"Damn it." I fell to my knees, trying to sweep the stuff up with my forearm, only to be stopped short when he crouched down to help me.

"Jesus." He laughed.

"What?" My face heated.

His eyes locked with mine. "You're more nervous than a whore in church, Short Stuff. Something on your mind?" An unnerving grin sat on his lips.

"What's wrong is that I have a problem with being called a whore and evil within the span of fifteen minutes by some guy I don't even know." His face fell. The guy had the audacity to look like he was the victim here. I huffed once, stood back up, and yanked my half-zipped purse against my stomach. "I'm leaving. And you"-I jerked my now-empty coffee cup his way, and a few remaining drops of cool liquid sloshed against my wrist-"will leave me the hell alone."

And with that, I left the coffeehouse and jumped into my car.

Chapter 7.

Collin I sneered at Max and jabbed an elbow into his ribs.

"You son of a bitch!" Groaning, he fell back against the couch cushions, probably more pissed my team scored the winning try than about my cheap shot. Some days, rugby on the Xbox was fiercer than on the pitch for the two of us.

I tossed my controller onto the coffee table and stood, stretching my arms over my head. What could I say? Success was sweet, cheating or not.

"Shut the hell up." Gavin staggered down the hall, dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. Guy looked like he'd seen better days, that's for sure.

Max shook his head and stood next to me. "Try not to stay out 'til three in the morning getting pussy next time."

"I was working, you idiot." He flipped Max off and went into the kitchen, then headed back, a bag of chips in hand.

"Ah, that's right. You live to work, and you work to live." Max grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed them into his mouth.

"At least I can keep a job longer than two months."

Max's smile fell. "I'm working two jobs right now, you idiot. Chef and waiter."

"Real-life goals there, Maxwell." Gavin moved to sit in a chair at the dining room table.

"Least I get some ass too. When's the last time you had sex?"

"None of your business." Gavin kicked Max in the shin as he sat beside him.

The two of them fought like brothers, while I was their constant referee. Problem being, I wasn't in the mood to deal with it this afternoon.

Over the past two weeks, I'd used all the vacation time I had left to stay home and watch Chloe, which meant tonight I would've been screwed if Lia didn't have a rare night off. Tomorrow, on the other hand...

I stuck Chloe in her high chair with some Cheerios and walked toward the kitchen to get her lunch ready. As I waited for her baby food to warm up in the microwave, my thoughts went to Bar Girl Addison-like they'd been doing since the night she ran out of my house. I couldn't help but wonder: was she like one of those hit-and-run ladies Max talked about? Or maybe she was like me and Gav, commitment-prone but too damn busy-not to mention picky-to just find someone to take the plunge with.

Not that it mattered either way. The girl was out of my life for good. She was nowhere near out of my head though, and that was scary enough right now.

I walked back to the dining room, smiling when I heard Chloe's giggles echo from the table. Something like a monkey or a dying baboon sounded from there too. Stopping at the end of the hall, I found Gavin on the chair in front of Chloe, trying to coax the cereal into her mouth, while Max stood behind him, yipping and bouncing from foot to foot.

"You're an idiot." I laughed, secretly wishing I could be as carefree as Max was. The goofy ass made everything in life seem so easy.

"She wouldn't eat. Max thought it'd help." Gavin gave me a tentative grin, one that said save me. Chuckling to myself, I leaned over and kissed Chloe's hair, shutting my eyes as she pounded her little fists against the tray. I inhaled through my nose, taking in the soft baby smell that was my little girl.

Fifteen minutes later, I was in the shower and getting ready for work when the door slammed open against the bathroom wall. I peered out from behind the curtain, expecting Max or Gav, but found Lia instead.

"The hell are you doing?" I scrubbed a hand down my face to get the water out of my eyes.

She sat on the closed toilet lid, frowning. "We need to talk."

I moved back into the shower, pulling the curtain closed. "It couldn't wait until I got out?"

"No."

I rolled my eyes. The girl could've gone off to Hollywood and been an actress if she wanted-that's how dramatic she was.

"Well, talk. You've got five minutes, maybe less."

"Fine. I'm talking."

I laughed.

"You know, Addie won't even come in to see me at the Java Java Hut anymore. I mean, she's one of the only girls who understands me, but you had to go and run her off."

I stiffened.

"Can't you just call her and-"

"Damn it, I'm not calling her. Don't even have her number. You go to her place and see why she's stayed away. Not my job to play girlfriend mediator."

She groaned. "Why can't you give her a second chance?"

It'd been the same thing for a week now: Lia either calling to rag on me or coming by to trap me with her guilt-ridden words. I was getting damn sick of it.

"She's right, man."

I blinked, whipping the shower curtain back a little at the voice. Max stood against the wall with his arms crossed at his chest. "Get out," I told him.

I glared back and forth between the two of them, not liking the knowing looks on their faces, then moved back under the water.

"I'm not leaving," Max grumbled.

"We're not leaving until you agree to call and at least apologize for being a jerk," Lia hissed.

"You scared her that night, Colly. Did you know that?" It was like a tennis match, the ball being hit back and forth between the two of them, almost like they'd planned this sabotage-which they damn well could've.

Except that what Max said made my heart skip. Had I scared her? I frowned at the idea. If anything, I thought she was a sassy cat, all bite and attitude.

Or maybe that was her front?

"Didn't scare her," I said.

If anything, she's the one who scared me. All sexy and wide eyed and warm as she blinked up at me... Then I thought of her body. Again. Even with her in that dress, I wanted to lick her. But licking was off limits because the girl was unlickable. I mean, damn. She would taste good, I'm sure. Smooth skin, probably like warm sugar... I shut my eyes, imagining her hot hands on my cock in the shower, instead of the water.

"Dude, you jacking off in there or what?" Max snorted.

God damn it. "No. Now would you two get out, please?"

"Need to finish getting one off?" Max laughed.

"Eww, gross," Lia groaned, a slap sounding against skin.

"Ouch, woman, cut your claws."

Lia laughed. "All the better to scratch you with, my dear."

I leaned my forehead against the tiled wall and groaned, not seeing any way out of this other than doing what they wanted. "Christ, would you both just get out of here? Let me shower in peace. If you do, I'll call her when I get out. Promise."

"Pay up, ten bucks. Knew he was jerking off in here."

More skin slapped against skin. "Quit talking about my brother's sex habits. And I didn't bet you a dime."

I pinched my lips together, not wanting to smile, especially since I'd just given in, but the two of them together-all vinegar and oil-made for some damn good entertainment, even though it was happening in the bathroom with me and about me.

Once the door closed, I leaned back and squeezed my eyes shut to try to get the vision of the sexy woman out of my head. Had enough of her in my dreams at night and even before I went to sleep. Visions of her bent over my bed, naked, begging for me to take her...

Damn it. Showers were off limits. They had to be. Because having this girl invade my thoughts in all aspects of life wasn't right.

A little while later, I was dressed in my work uniform and sitting on my bed with a couple of hovering idiots on either side of me. One of those being my sister. "So, what are you gonna say first?" She bounced on the bed next to me, looking like an eight-year-old kid.

"I'm not fifteen, Lia. I know how to talk to a woman."

Max laughed, knowing how much of a lie that was. Again, I hadn't actually been with a woman in eighteen months-not many choices when you were off in the desert dodging bullets and avoiding IEDs. And even before that, Amy had been the only one.

Since college, the two of us had always been close. Best friends to fuck buddies, to...something more. But the second I heard her voice on the phone when she told me she was pregnant-eight weeks to the day I'd last been home on leave for my uncle's funeral-I'd promised her we'd get through it together.

Except I lied and, three months into Amy's pregnancy, I chose another six months of deployment rather than heading home. It wasn't a normal situation, but to me, it was the only logical choice. My only real duty at the time had been to stay with Gavin, Max, and the rest of our unit until the end. Part of me didn't care if I'd missed Chloe's birth. Not because I didn't want to be there or didn't love Amy, but because, for nearly six years, my life had been with my friends, making sure everyone in our platoon came home alive. Together.

My brothers meant more to me than anything else back then. And things at home were, in my warped mind, a fantasy. Something I didn't have a moment to think about-didn't see or experience either. Then the accident happened, and my time as a marine came to an end soon after that. But instead of coming home to start my life with my new family, I came home to a casket and a child I didn't even know.

My hand tightened around my phone at the thoughts messing with my mood.

Fuck me sideways, would I always be such a selfish man?

A hand slapped my back, jarring my eyes open. "You all right?"

I turned toward Max, nodding. "Yeah."

"Good. Here's her number then." In his hand sat a business card decorated with white-and-black lettering. Addison's name, number, and personal information were written across the front.

"Where'd you get this?" My gaze flew back and forth between the card and Max's smug face.

"Ran into her this morning when I took your truck to get coffee. It fell out of her purse." He grinned, unashamed. "We had one helluva chat."

Lia elbowed him in the ribs like I'd done earlier. "You messed her all up, according to Betsy. She ran out of that place like the devil was riding her ass."

Max groaned, rubbing his side. "Damn, you Montgomerys are abusive."

"What'd you say to her?" I stood, my protective instincts flaring to life. Didn't like the fact that he'd been alone with her-let alone talked to her. Not because I was jealous. At least, that's what I was telling myself.

He shrugged. "I may have insulted her. But not on purpose."

"Jerkface. She's my friend." Lia stood, shoving past Max to go out into the hall.

"Lee-Lee," Max pleaded. "Come on, I didn't... She caught me by surprise, is all." He threw one hand up and then let it fall to his side.

"I've gotta make this phone call. Go make sure Gav's not losing his mind with Chloe out there, would ya?" I offered up a sympathetic smile to Max, placing orders like we were still neck deep in Taliban fighters.

Nodding once, he left the room, his shoulders sagging. The guy was a lovesick puppy when it came to my sister.

I took a deep breath and let it go. It was time to man up and do what inevitably needed to be done-pride, nerves, forever blue balls be damned. I'd gone through interviewee after interviewee, yet none of them were good enough for my girl. Which meant Max and Lia were right, no matter how much I didn't want them to be.

The sexy woman I couldn't stop thinking about might just be the answer to my biggest problem.

Chapter 8.

Addison When I didn't recognize the number on my phone, I jumped to answer it, thinking it might be about one of the twenty jobs I'd applied for. But when my loud and obnoxious ringtone earned me a dirty look from the librarian, I was forced to answer with a soft "Hello?"

A throat cleared as I half ran, half walked to somewhere more private.

"Addison?"

I stopped, frozen in my tracks right in the middle of the travel and tourism section. Eyes squeezed shut, I pressed my palm against my neck, nervous. "This is she."

A breath of air shot through the phone. "Come back for a real interview, would you?"